SMAW skill transfer

admin

I've heard some older welders say that if you can master stick welding, the other processes come easy (FCAW, GTAW, GMAW).  Would you agree with this?  How would you rank the processes from hardest to easiest (in your opinion)?
Reply:I'm only a student at my local community college, but in my experience, they started me with SMAW(which was a pain in my butt, but I managed to complete the class), and now I'm doing GMAW, and it's SO MUCH EASIER.Sent from my SPH-L710 using Tapatalk
Reply:I don't know what most of the other members would rank the various processes at as far as difficulty. I personally think mig is the easiest, followed by flux-core, stick, and tig. GMAW,FCAW,SMAW, and GTAW. If you can stick weld, the wire feed is easy. Tig requires a much steadier hand, and good hand to eye coordination. It takes two steady hands, coordinated, to tig! Hopes this answers your question.
Reply:When I learned, the progression was oxy/acetylene, stick, mig.When I taught my boys it was, oxy/acetylene, stick, tig, mig.No complaints But I'm starting to think that leaving out oxy/fuel and going stick, tig, mig would be just fine.Dave J.Beware of false knowledge; it is more dangerous than ignorance. ~George Bernard Shaw~ Syncro 350Invertec v250-sThermal Arc 161 and 300MM210DialarcTried being normal once, didn't take....I think it was a Tuesday.
Reply:We tested a 30 year veteran stick welder for a Fluxcore welding job. He couldn't do it as he kept trying to run the MIG gun like a Stinger! He really wanted/needed the job but admitted he couldn't change his technique.
Reply:When I learned, the progression was oxy/acetylene, stick, mig.
Reply:I lernt gas, mig, stick, tig. IMO stick is the toughest to get 'good' at. So much is happening at once. You are constantly adjusting for the puddle AND the electrode.TIG is the toughest to master because you are in the process.First, you have to stop wetting yourself when you strike an arc. After that, things get easy.Be wary of The Numbers: Figures don't lie,. but liars can figure.Welders:2008 Lincoln 140 GMAW&FCAW2012 HF 165 'toy' GTAW&SMAW1970's Cobbled together O/A
Reply:When I was a kid working on cars you Had to have an O/A set to heat & cut. I learned to "gas weld" with it (took basic lessons at AirCo when I bought it) and Never Looked Back! You learn to "watch-the-puddle", read it, then you know how to weld. It's cheap, Far cheaper than learning to TIG , and once you learn it you'd be amazed how quickly you transition right to TIG.MIG only seems easy because you can make terrible welds with ease  (you'd know the difference right away if you knew how to gas weld (O/A))So Much o fwhat Stick weldings "puddle" looks like is obscured by smoke & flux BUT, again,,, with gas welding experience you can kind of "fill-in-the-blanks" because you already know what the rest is probably doing.Learn to Gas Weld first and you build the right foundation...
Reply:I’ve always been told you should learn oxygen & acetylene welding first. Reason being, it gives you a clear unobstructive view of the puddle. That makes it easier to learn to read the puddle. Back when I was in welding school, probably before a lot of you were born yet. There was a lot of manufacturing going on in this country. The welding school was sending guys out to work running Mig welders. The teacher referred to them as idiot welders.Don’t pay any attention to meI’m just a hobbyist!CarlDynasty 300V350-Pro w/pulseSG Spool gun1937 IdealArc-300PowerArc 200ST3 SA-200sVantage 400
Reply:O/A and SMAW force you to watch what the puddle is doing much more than Mig. Learning to read the puddle makes all welding easier, especially Tig.
Reply:I tried starting with gas and quite honestly I failed at it. Am still not very good at it (not that I am really good at anything  ) But then I moved on to SMAW. It took a while, as I am 100% self taught and still learning every day, but I can make straight beads and passable joints (for a hobbyist). I went MIG next and quite honestly I think knowing how to stick weld made a world of difference. MIG was easy after stick. TIG will never be easy, and I did have the advantage of one of Zap's clinics, but I think stick helped with TIG as well.If I were going to try and teach one of my kids, I would start them on stick, with 7014 drag rod. then move up from there.Miller Multimatic 255
Reply:The school I'm at tends to go stick- TIG- MIG. Specifically, the MIG class is designed for people who are on their way out the door with a pipelining certificate and had an extra slot for a class, or people getting an AAS in welding.As a student, I'm finding TIG a lot easier than stick, but YMMV.Currently working as a Paralegal, but still interested in hobby welding.Miller Bobcat 225ntOne- Character Fractions: ¼ ½ ¾ ⅛ ⅜ ⅝ ⅞
Reply:I see no benefit going stick first. They are all different and have pros and cons.I think someone trying to learn is better off splitting time between processes because I believe each one makes the other one better. FieldRes explained it to me as becoming bored with a process. I think there is something bigger than that at play but do not know what it is.
Reply:Thinking about it in my sleep I bet most people started on stick because that is all that they had.
Reply:I think mig, stick and tig in that order of learning difficulty. In this age of plasma cutters I think O/A cutting and welding, like forging, will be a very rare art. As for mig the problem I see is a person can make a beautiful weld but if not hot enough and insufficient surface prep it will fail.                                              MikeOl' Stonebreaker  "Experience is the name everyone gives to their mistakes"Hobart G-213 portableMiller 175 migMiller thunderbolt ac/dc stick Victor O/A setupMakita chop saw
Reply:i think they are all difficult in their own rights for different reasons.  O/A welding / brazing is the bane of my existence ... i have never had a feel for it.Stick comes pretty naturally for me as well as Tig ... Mig and flux core are necessary evils.In rank of my own personal respect:  TIG, O/A, Stick, Flux Core, MigBut i would not say that techniques with stick cross over any more than other processes ... i do however think it is a necessary skill to qualify for title of Welder.AWS CWI xxxx21711968 SA200  Originally Posted by WelderMike  I hate being bipolar, It's awesome.
Reply:Originally Posted by AFFENDE...snip...O/A welding / brazing is the bane of my existence ... i have never had a feel for it....snip....
Reply:When I gas weld my body always has difficulty stopping the hand/arm rhythm, they just keep on going.